SDN Photo-a-Day (Rules updates - read the OP)

[The Grim Squeaker]

I spent a good two hours on Saturday in the old arab portion of Tel-Aviv, Jaffa. First up, three cattish pictures (there was an old woman feeding a half dozen street cats):
IMG_0110

IMG_0089

IMG_0051


I love the first shot, I spent ages trying to get a good shot of it's eyes and the black grime .

[The Grim Squeaker]

3 small Pictures from a village walk:
IMG_0002


IMG_0032

IMG_0031

[generator_g1]

From my recent trip to the local zoo...

Dreaming of home....

[The Grim Squeaker]

The picture is a bit odd, very sharpened. Or taken on a compact?

[Bounty]

From my recent trip to the local zoo...

Nice. Was it really just sitting still like that, or did you get a quick snap?

[J]

I travelled back in time to bring you this picture from the Victorian era.




Oh no! The tripods are coming!

[The Grim Squeaker]

The tripod is Awesome (Less so for my having spent the last half hour trying to get my camera tripod to work, stupid plastic plug ).
Where's it from?

[RRoan]

It took fifteen waves before I got a picture I liked.




I need a new camera...

[Bounty]

The Awesome: Three words: Pump-action rangefinder. KA-CHUNK!

How does that work?

waves

Is that lighthouse still operational? And if so, do you have any plans for going back there at night? Judging by the sunset pic you can make some nice images when it's lit.

[J]

The tripod is Awesome
Where's it from?

Mars, of course. Haven't you read The War of the Worlds?

[RRoan]

Is that lighthouse still operational? And if so, do you have any plans for going back there at night? Judging by the sunset pic you can make some nice images when it's lit.

It is, actually. Yaquina Head has been automated since 1966. The whole area is actually a park, and is unfortunately only open during the day. I suppose I could go out there at night, but I'd have to make my way along nearly a mile of sheer waterside cliffs, and I'm not that dedicated. My camera fails hard at night anyways, seeing as how it's a compact.

[generator_g1]

The picture is a bit odd, very sharpened. Or taken on a compact?

I used my Canon SX10 zoomed out to 500mm.

I did some minor post processing work on it in Photoshop.
1. Resizing the pic down by 50%.
2. Convert it into LAB color, then applying Unsharp Mask with the ff settings:
Amount 150%, Radius 1 pixel, Threshold 1 level.
3. Fade Unsharp Mask and select Luminosity.
4. Convert it back into RGB and save.

I'll post a link later to the unaltered pic for comparison. I'm using a different PC now.

Nice. Was it really just sitting still like that, or did you get a quick snap?

Yep. Lucky for me, the tiger managed to sit still until I was able to get the shot.

Some more zoo pics.

[Simplicius]

How does that work?

Rack-and-pinion system. Pulling the cocking knob rotates the take-up spool, and a little arm at the end of the rack reaches into the bottom of the camera body and operates the shutter cocking mechanism as well. Throw is a little over 7 cm.

[J]

Also, as you can see from this picture, I've mastered the Force.

[The Grim Squeaker]

Ah, photogenic parrots

The tripod is Awesome
Where's it from?

Mars, of course. Haven't you read The War of the Worlds?

I'd have gone for an Earth shot from there

[Bounty]

Rack-and-pinion system. Pulling the cocking knob rotates the take-up spool, and a little arm at the end of the rack reaches into the bottom of the camera body and operates the shutter cocking mechanism as well. Throw is a little over 7 cm.

I feel like an idiot now. I read your post as saying the actual rangefinder mechanism was pump-action, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out how that'd work. Clever system, though. It sure is a nice alternative to a lever.

White bird

You really know how to make them sit still, don't you ?

[The Grim Squeaker]

White bird

You really know how to make them sit still, don't you ?

Parrots are just naturally good photo subjects (colourful, and like to sit)

[generator_g1]

Here's the link to the unaltered tiger pic.

Land tortoise


African gray parrot


Zebra

[Bounty]

I like the unaltered tiger better, but that might just be because it's bigger. It's definitely a picture that benefits from being large, the texture of the fur gets lost in the downsizing.

If these are all downsized, consider leaving them a bit bigger - I find that 800px width still displays well on a 1024x768 screen without breaking formatting.

[generator_g1]

Yeah, maybe you're right. I'll try reducing them to 70% next time instead of 50%.

Last pic for tonight....

[Bounty]

Photoshop lets you resize to a specific width or length with "Image->Image Size..."

[Bounty]

[J]

Question for Bounty: Have you considered using coloured filters for your black & white photos?

With filters you can change the lighting relationships between the various objects in the photos and really make the subject(s) stand out from the background.

For instance let's say this is your original scene, as seen with your eyes. (it's also my picture for the day)


With B&W film and no filters it will look like this. Kinda dull since the crane more or less blends into the sky.

A yellow filter improves things a bit, giving more texture to the leaves in the trees, and it also improves the separation of the crane against the sky. Picture here

A blue filter will really lighten up the blue skies while darkening the crane against it, while also giving the best contrast in the shadows of the building's unfinished upper floors. Unfortunately it loses the lighting & contrast in the tree leaves. See picture

Finally, a red filter will really darken the skies and highlight the red crane against it. If there were clouds in the blue sky it would also give the best contrast between the clouds & the sky. Also note that some parts of the building almost look like a negative of the blue filter, sometimes this is great, other times it can look rather odd. Red filter

[The Grim Squeaker]

J Flickr-17

J Flickr-13

J Flickr-12

[Bounty]

Question for Bounty: Have you considered using coloured filters for your black & white photos?

I have. I even have a yellow filter already and try to use it. But finding colour filters for an Industar lens from the fifties is not all that easy - certainly not a full set.